Ahead of their T20 series against Sri Lanka, Tim Southee, who will be leading New Zealand in Kane Williamson’s absence, said Sri Lanka are a tough opposition and have some seriously talented players. The three-match series begins on September 1 (Sunday) in Pallekele. New Zealand played a practice T20 game against a Sri Lanka Board Presidents XI and won comfortably by 33 runs, with Scott Kuggeleijn returning 4/19, while Ish Sodhi grabbed three wickets. New Zealand last played a T20 International in Sri Lanka back in November 2013, a one-off game that they lost to the hosts by eight wickets in Pallekele. (Video Credit: NZC)
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00:00 How do you look at this stage?
00:14 I think whenever you come to another team's country you've always got to respect the
00:19 opposition and their conditions.
00:21 I think although the Sri Lankan side is a reasonably young and inexperienced side, there's
00:26 some exciting talent there.
00:28 For us it's about respecting the opposition and worrying about the way we play and controlling
00:33 the things we can control.
00:36 In this game it's far different from the test record and it gives changes in flash.
00:40 So what sort of plans do you have with your team for tomorrow's game?
00:44 We've had a number of personnel changes from the test side to the T20 side.
00:48 I think eight or nine guys have come in.
00:50 It's about us getting together as a group.
00:53 We had a nice head out the other day in a warm up game in Colombo and we're looking
00:59 forward to hopefully getting out and getting some training in tonight.
01:01 So it's more about us gelling together as a side.
01:05 As I say there's a number of new personnel coming into the tour so it's exciting times
01:10 for the T20 side.
01:12 Well in your playing XI it's easy to find batters up to number 9 or 10 but out of them
01:20 how can you tell that these guys are quite dependable all rounders?
01:26 We've got a number of all rounders in the side and I guess that's a luxury to have
01:31 in a T20 side.
01:32 You've got bowling options and you've also got powerful batters all the way down the
01:36 order.
01:37 We've got a few guys that are reasonably new to international cricket, the likes of
01:40 Daryl Mitchell and Scott Kuglein who burst onto the scene during the home summer.
01:46 And then you've got some more experienced all rounders in the likes of Mitch Satner,
01:50 Colin LeGronhome and the likes.
01:51 So yeah it's a good mix between some guys that have been around for a little bit and
01:56 some guys that are new to the international level.
02:02 So the Pallakale traditionally has been a pace friendly wicket so far, so how do you
02:07 sort of reckon playing here than a dry wicket somewhere else in Sri Lanka?
02:12 Yeah I guess that's something we're going to have to adapt to.
02:15 You sort of come to this part of the world and you expect spin to play a big part but
02:18 we know here that it's a pretty high scoring ground.
02:21 I think the last few games there's been a couple of scores over 200 so it sounds like
02:26 it's a pretty good wicket and a pretty good T20 surface.
02:28 So it's about us adapting to that and the quicker you can adapt in T20 cricket then
02:33 I guess that sets you up throughout the game.
02:36 What kind of things you took from the practice game the other day in Nicombo?
02:40 Sorry what was that?
02:42 What kind of things you sort of prepared from the practice game the other day?
02:47 Yeah it was nice for some guys to get a hit out in these conditions.
02:53 Some guys scored some runs and it was nice for the bowlers to get some overs.
02:58 So yeah it was a nice, it was a good hit out, it was nice to win but it was also nice for
03:02 the guys to get out and play some cricket and sort of start to gel together as a side.
03:07 When it comes to the T20 rankings it's far too different from Test and ODI as there are
03:12 about 100 odd teams being ranked right now.
03:15 So but in this game you never know someone comes behind and may overtake you.
03:20 So what do you think of this new ranking system meant for the T20s?
03:26 I'm not too sure about the ranking system but I think T20 cricket in general is anyone
03:31 can beat anyone on their day.
03:32 You just need a couple of guys to stand up and all of a sudden a couple of bad overs
03:36 with the ball or a couple of great overs with the bat and the game can change so quickly.
03:40 And I think that's the beauty of T20 cricket is that it brings the sides together and anyone
03:44 can beat anyone on their day.
03:47 This is about the World Cup final actually.
03:50 You weren't in the playing eleven but you were there in the last few hours during the
03:53 World Cup final.
03:54 Being unable to bowl at that time what went through your mind?
03:58 Sort of itching to bowl or what kind of things went through your mind?
04:02 Well I knew I couldn't bowl so that was, removed that from the equation.
04:05 But obviously you wanted to play, it was nice to get on the field for a little bit of it.
04:11 But yeah it's one of those things that will relive for a long time.
04:16 But I think it was more the way the guys carried themselves throughout the tournament and I
04:20 think we're proud as a cricketing country to reach the final and I guess the way we
04:25 played cricket throughout the tournament was very pleasing.
04:27 Although we didn't walk away with the trophy I think we can still walk away with our heads
04:31 held high.
04:35 This game is usually meant for belters.
04:38 How do you reckon this game is?
04:39 Bowler's game or batsman's game?
04:42 Yeah I guess T20 cricket is an entertaining game.
04:46 People want to see the ball flying around, you want high scores and what not.
04:49 But I think as a bowler, bowlers can win you games if you have a great day.
04:55 I guess it's tough now with some of the shots that batsmen play.
04:59 But I think also the skill that you're seeing from bowlers these days and the different
05:02 types of deliveries and yeah it's just an exciting format.
05:07 I don't know if it's a batter's game or a bowler's game but I think it's developing
05:12 skills in both facets that we're seeing in the other formats of the game as well.
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